Articles

Top 10 countries with the best quality of life in the world for expats

Published by SchoolAdvisor | Jan 31, 2017

The countries with the best quality of life in the world have a good work-life balance, access to quality healthcare, education, and infrastructure, as well as cost of living and career opportunities.  The community and great weather also helps.In a new survey by InterNations, the world’s largest network for people who live and work abroad, the company asked 14,300 expats, representing 174 nationalities and living in 191 countries or territories, to rate 43 different aspects of life abroad on a scale of 1-7.From this, InterNations calculated the scores to get an overall average.The Quality of Life index took into account factors such as:

• Leisure Options;
• Personal Happiness;
• Travel & Transport;
• Health & Well-Being;
• Safety & Security.

We took a look at the top 10 countries: 

10. Israel

  While healthcare, education, and the ability to find a job helps Switzerland hit the top 10, the rising cost of living keeps the country from the top spot. 

9. Switzerland

  The country is popular with expats due to it being one of the top rated places to find a job, while also hitting near the top of the sub-ranking for general living standards.

8. Australia

  The city-state dropped from first to eighth place this year due to rising cost of living and mainly the affordability of healthcare.

7. Finland

  The country was a hit with expats with children as the availability and costs of childcare and education there are rated well. 74% said that education is easy to afford. 

6. Czechia

 While the country is very popular with Brits for the weather and local culture, it has dropped from 3rd place last year in the Work-Life Balance sub-category to 20th in 2016. 

5. Austria

  Warm weather and improvements in the language category helped boost the country. 79% also said they feel “at home” in the local culture. 

4. Singapore

  The country, famed for its good weather, rises in the rankings because expats voted it highly for in the Ease of Settling In Index. They say that friendliness and, more specifically, the attitude of locals towards foreigners makes it a great place to live. 

3. Spain

Spain shows great results for all factors in the Leisure Options subcategory. The country receives the best ratings for available leisure options in general. Expats in Spain enjoy the local climate and weather.

2. Portugal

Expats in Portugal are impressed with the quality of the environment and the local climate and weather. Portugal is doing rather well in the Safety & Security subcategory.

1. Taiwan

  The country rose right to the top of the ranking for its quality of medical care and its affordability. It also polled first place for quality of life among female respondents and second for men.